Marysville Homeless Cleared Out of Hollywood Park

MARYSVILLE -- City crews used a large excavator and a front-loading tractor to attack tons of debris at a former trailer park that is home to several dozen homeless residents.

Hollywood Park has been a growing problem for code enforcement because of sanitation, hazardous waste and fire hazards. In addition, police had a difficult time responding to calls in camps that had no addresses and are hidden down dirt roads or trails.

"We're just trying to alleviate the health and safety issues and give these folks as much time as possible to move immediate belongings," said Yuba County Code Enforcement Officer Chris Monaco.

But some of the residents who reside in makeshift shacks, trailers and campers were scrambling to salvage what belongings they could carry.

"I don't bother nobody, and now I got to go? I don't have time to go," said Carol Salter, a 10-year resident of Hollywood Park.

She has a fenced in compound with a trailer, outhouse, and a large corral where she keeps her dogs. She expects to lose all of it to the tractors.

But homeless officials in the county and city said notice of the cleanup first appeared in March and social workers spent last week in the area offering housing and other assistance.

Some claim they never got notice and others chose to ignore them given the collection of items salvaged from the streets that could fill a house.

While the county opened the 14 Foward temporary shelter this summer, some homeless campers refused to go there fearing the loss of freedom in a controlled setting.

"If we had somewhere to go we'd already have left," said resident Jolene Reid.

Many of those evicted from Hollywood Park say they will go to the lone remaining homeless encampment northwest of town.

There is so much collected property and trash in the area that crews may work for another week.

Code enforcement says it will give residents extensions if they have difficulty moving.

But it's clear that most will not be able to move all their belongings because they would need trucks or trailers to do so.